Welcome I would take your knife and cut strips through the leg so it leaves some of the meat a bit more accessible but still attached to the leg. Then once he figures that out I would just leave it. They have to learn how to work to get their food.

__________________Kari ~ Keeper, servant and mommy to the following crew

There was a ton of meat still on the bones - I basically pulled off some chunks to get him chewing. I did the same thing this morning with the thigh - just pulled off a few pieces of meat and threw it all back into the bowl. He's loving it I'll slowly stop doing that and see if he eventually figures out that he can have a ton more fun tearing through the whole thing Thanks!

So, one of the things I'm trying to figure out is how to get him to eat the raw chicken on his own without wanting to take it to the living room. I think he's used to taking big things like rawhides (which I also have a question on ) and large treats in the past to the living room where he uses his paws to hold & tear. When I give him the chicken in his eating area he wants to take to the same place and, well, not something we want. So I've been holding the pieces while he pulls and eats - probably not a good thing. Any pointers? Should I have an eating mat or something?

Also, I also want to get him away from the treats we've been giving him in the past, all the boxed stuff that one buys at pet stores and/or Walmart. Any suggestions?

With Callie, I use a place mat, or I feed her in the crate. Her go-to place to eat is my bed, so obviously the last thing I wanted was raw chicken in my bed.

I started raw two weeks ago and I still have to sit with her while she eats, just to reinforce that she stays on the mat. She's pretty good about it, too. What I do is every time she takes the meat away from the mat, I take it away and put it back on the mat. She learned really quick to stay on the mat, but she does occasionally need a refresher. Since you've been feeding him pretty much by hand, that's actually a good thing. He'll be more comfortable with you handling his food and shouldn't resort to resource guarding.

As for the crate, I just close her in and let her eat since it's pretty easy to clean up. Just wipe it down and call it a day.

I don't have any pointers on treats. Callie will eat anything I give her and I'm not too strict on the treats. I figure it's like humans. Yes, we should snack on a healthy apple, but instead we choose cookies. That being said, she does get healthier treats, probably just as much as she gets the junk treats. For Cal, I usually cut up apples and stuff her Kong. Or I use apple juice. She gets sweet potato skins from time to time. She used to get carrots but since she just shreds them and leaves the shavings, she's been banned from them.

I don't see why you can't still give rawhides. I personally don't like them and prefer going for the real bones but it's personal preference.

OK, here is my next question My dogs have been on RAW for a year or so... I buy it from a lady here its ground and has eggs, bone and so on in it. I do add backs on top and coconut oil or olive oil. So now that I am switching to More Prey Model.. should I start at the turkey point? and follow along? Or should I start with chicken legs still? I appreciate the help.. I know once I get going it will seem so easy... but I just want to be sure I do it right for their sake.

OK, here is my next question My dogs have been on RAW for a year or so... I buy it from a lady here its ground and has eggs, bone and so on in it. I do add backs on top and coconut oil or olive oil. So now that I am switching to More Prey Model.. should I start at the turkey point? and follow along? Or should I start with chicken legs still? I appreciate the help.. I know once I get going it will seem so easy... but I just want to be sure I do it right for their sake.

I kind of followed it. I removed the skin... Not fun.. But because my dogs were already used to the proteins I didn't wait the 2 weeks on each protein. I have only started introducing organs though. They had them mixed in their store bought but it seems like a bigger piece when you can see it I still have to try fish.